1994 in video games

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Template:Short description Template:Multiple issues Template:Use mdy dates Template:Year topic navigation

1994 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy VI, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Super Street Fighter II Turbo and Virtua Fighter 2 and Doom II, along with new titles such as Daytona USA, Ace Driver, Alpine Racer, The King of Fighters '94 and Tekken.

The year's Template:Nowrap video game console was the Game Boy, while the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo remained the Template:Nowrap home console. The year's highest-grossing arcade video games were Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo) and Virtua Fighter in Japan, and Daytona USA and Mortal Kombat II in the United States, while the year's best-selling home video game worldwide was Donkey Kong Country.

Legend

{{#invoke:VgData|main|ct=platform|col=3|3DO|Arcade|DOS|GB|GEN|GG|LIN|MAC|NEO|NES|PS1|S32X|SAT|SCD|SMS|SNES}}

{{#invoke:VgData|main|ct=genre|ver=none|col=3|Action|Action RPG|City builder|Fighting|FPS|Metroidvania|Platformer|Racing|RPG|Sandbox|Simulation|Sports|Tactical RPG}}

Hardware releases

PlayStation video game console, first released in Japan

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 1994.

Awards Game of the Year Platform Publisher Genre Template:Abbr
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) Donkey Kong Country SNES Nintendo Platformer citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Game Informer citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Video Games & Computer Magazine citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Time Magazine <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Nintendo Power
Kid's Choice Awards citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

GameFan Megawards Earthworm Jim GEN Playmates Interactive Platformer <ref>GameFan, volume 3, issue 1 (January 1995), pages 68-75</ref>
Clockwork Knight SAT Sega
Gamest Awards The King of Fighters '94 Arcade SNK Fighting <ref name="Gamest" />
IAAPA Exhibit Awards Ace Driver Arcade Namco Racing <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) NBA Jam Acclaim Sports (basketball) citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1994 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Title Platform Developer Publisher Genre Score (out of 40)
Final Fantasy VI SNES Squaresoft Squaresoft RPG 37
Ridge Racer PS1 Namco Namco Racing 37
Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo (Mystery of the Emblem) SNES Intelligent Systems Nintendo Tactical RPG 36
Virtua Fighter SAT Sega AM2 Sega Fighting 36

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

The best-selling arcade printed circuit board (PCB) worldwide in 1994 was SNK's Neo Geo MVS system.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Japan

The following titles were the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1994 in Japan.

Rank Gamest<ref name="Gamest">Template:Cite magazine alternate url</ref> Game Machine<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Title Manufacturer Title Type Points
1 Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge Capcom Virtua Fighter PCB / Deluxe {{#expr:2948+2909}}
2 Virtua Fighter Sega Super Street Fighter II / X PCB {{#expr:1806+3197}}
3 Garō Densetsu Special (Fatal Fury Special) SNK Puyo Puyo PCB 3466
4 Vampire: The Night Warriors (Darkstalkers) Capcom Ridge Racer Deluxe 3265
5 The King of Fighters '94 SNK Super Real Mahjong PIV PCB 2909
6 Super Street Fighter II Capcom Shanghai III PCB 2794
7 Gokujo Parodius Konami Raiden II PCB 2718
8 Ridge Racer Namco Lethal Enforcers Dedicated 2713
9 Daytona USA Sega Tetris (Sega) PCB 2686
10 Puyo Puyo Compile OutRunners 2P cabinet 2676

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the highest-grossing games of each month in 1994.

Month Dedicated arcade cabinet Printed circuit board (PCB) Template:Abbr
February Ridge Racer <ref name="CVG">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
March Ridge Racer Super Street Fighter II Turbo <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
April <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
May Daytona USA <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
June <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
July Daytona USA <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
August <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
September <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
October Daytona USA Gunbird <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Virtua Fighter by Sega AM2 was also one of the UK's most popular coin-ops of the year.<ref name="CVG158">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1994.

Rank Play Meter AAMA<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> AMOA<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Title Award Dedicated arcade cabinet Arcade conversion kit
1 Daytona USA,
Mortal Kombat II<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 		Daytona USA (Twin)
Cruis'n USA,
Killer Instinct,
Mortal Kombat II,
Neo Geo MVS 		Diamond Mortal Kombat II
2 Lethal Enforcers,
Mortal Kombat,
NBA Jam,
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition,
Virtua Fighter 		NBA Jam: Tournament Edition,
Raiden II,
Super Street Fighter II,
Samurai Shodown
3 rowspan="3" Template:Unknown
4
5
6 Template:Unknown NBA Jam: Tournament Edition Platinum Template:N/A
7 rowspan="3" Template:Unknown Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors,
Raiden II,
Revolution X 		Gold colspan="2" rowspan="6" Template:N/A
8
9
10 rowspan="3" Template:Unknown Alien vs. Predator,
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom,
Super Street Fighter II Turbo 		Silver
11
12

Best-selling video game consoles

Rank Manufacturer Platform Type Sales
Japan USA Europe Elsewhere Worldwide
1 Nintendo GB Handheld 1,140,000<ref name=":22">Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:Unknown Template:Unknown Template:Unknown 7,500,000+<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
2 Nintendo SNES Home 2,200,000<ref name=":9" /> 4,258,000+ 1,060,000<ref name=":9" /> 900,000<ref name=":9" /> 6,218,000
2 Sega GEN Home 500,000<ref name=":9">Template:Cite magazine</ref> 4,000,000+<ref name="Wire">Template:Cite news</ref> 1,540,000<ref name=":9" /> 1,000,000<ref name=":9" /> 7,040,000+
4 Sega SCD Home 150,000<ref name=":9" /> 550,000<ref name=":9" /> 205,000<ref name=":9" /> Template:N/A 905,000<ref name=":9" />
5 Sega GG Handheld 350,000<ref name=":22" /> 500,000+<ref name="Wire" /> Template:Unknown Template:Unknown 850,000+
6 Sega SAT Home 840,000<ref name=":22" /> Template:N/A Template:N/A Template:N/A 840,000
7 Sega S32X Home citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

500,000<ref name="Wire" /> 65,000<ref name=":9" /> Template:N/A 835,000
8 Goldstar, Panasonic, Sanyo 3DO Home 450,000<ref name=":22" /> 160,000<ref name=":9" /> 15,000<ref name=":9" /> 5,000+<ref name=":9" /> 630,000+
9 Sony PS1 Home 600,000<ref name=":22" /> Template:N/A Template:N/A Template:N/A 600,000
10 Nintendo NES Home 280,000<ref name=":22"/> citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Template:Unknown Template:Unknown 548,000+

Best-selling home video games

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games (console games or computer games) worldwide in 1994.

Rank Title Platform Sales
Japan<ref name=":1" /> USA<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Worldwide
1 Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong) SNES 956,000 2,057,006 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

2 Street Fighter II 941,000+ 989,178+Template:Efn 3,709,090+Template:Efn
3 Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III) SNES 2,550,000+<ref name="EGM63" /> 275,952 2,825,952+
4 Mortal Kombat II Template:Unknown 1,929,494+ 2,500,000+<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
5 NBA Jam GEN, SNES Template:Unknown 2,313,526 2,313,526+
6 Sonic 3 & Knuckles GEN Template:Unknown 1,473,730 1,473,730+
7 Madden NFL 95 GEN, SNES Template:N/A 811,568 811,568+
8 Super Metroid SNES 531,000 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

787,262+
9 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers GEN, SNES Template:N/A 731,910 731,910+
10 J.League Excite Stage '94 (Capcom's Soccer Shootout) SNES 714,000 Template:Unknown 714,000+

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.

Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Template:Abbr
1 Final Fantasy VI SNES Squaresoft RPG 2,550,000+ <ref name="EGM63">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2 Super Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country) SNES Nintendo Platformer 956,000 <ref name=":1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
3 Super Street Fighter II SNES Capcom Fighting 941,000
4 J.League Excite Stage '94 (Capcom's Soccer Shootout) SNES Epoch Co. Sports (soccer) 714,000
5 Super Bomberman 2 SNES Hudson Soft Maze 713,000
6 Super Momotarō Dentetsu III SNES Hudson Soft Simulation 610,000
7 Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 3 SNES Bandai Fighting 595,000
8 Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo (Mystery of the Emblem) SNES Nintendo Tactical RPG 563,000
9 Super Metroid SNES Nintendo Metroidvania 531,000
10 Mother 2: Gīgu no Gyakushū (EarthBound) SNES Nintendo RPG 518,000

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1994.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Rank Title Platform Publisher Genre Sales Template:Abbr
1 NBA Jam GEN, SNES Acclaim Entertainment Sports (basketball) 2,313,526 <ref name=":2" />
2 Donkey Kong Country SNES Nintendo Platformer 2,057,006
3 Mortal Kombat II GEN, SNES Acclaim Entertainment Fighting 1,929,494
4 Sonic 3 & Knuckles GEN Sega Platformer 1,473,730 <ref name=":2" />
5 Street Fighter II GEN, SNES Capcom Fighting 989,178+ Template:Efn
6 Madden NFL 95 GEN, SNES EA Sports Sports (football) 811,568 <ref name=":2" />
7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers GEN, SNES Sega, Bandai Action 731,910
8 The Lion King GEN, SNES Virgin Interactive Platformer 619,399
9 NBA Live 95 GEN, SNES EA Sports Sports (basketball) 542,758
10 Disney's Aladdin SNES Capcom Platformer 421,996+ <ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

United Kingdom

HMV, a British entertainment retailer, released a monthly list of the chain's highest-selling home video game titles. The following titles topped the monthly all-formats charts, as reported by Computer and Video Games.

Month Title Platform Publisher Genre Template:Abbr
January Sensible Soccer GEN Sony Sports (soccer) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
February SimCity 2000 DOS, MAC Mindscape City builder <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
March NBA Jam GEN, SNES, GG Acclaim Sports (basketball) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
April Doom Id Software FPS <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
May World Cup Striker SNES U.S. Gold Sports (soccer) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
June World Cup USA '94 GEN, SNES, GG U.S. Gold Sports (soccer) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
July Star Wars: TIE Fighter Virgin Interactive Space combat <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
August Super Street Fighter II GEN Sega Fighting <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
September Mortal Kombat II SNES, GEN, SMS, GG, GB Acclaim Fighting <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
October Doom II Virgin Interactive FPS <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
November FIFA Soccer 95 GEN EA Sports Sports (soccer) <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
December <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Events

  • Nintendo proclaims "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Business

  • New companies: Neversoft
  • Defunct: Commodore, Tradewest
  • September 14 – Video gaming magazine Nintendomagasinet is cancelled after four years. Number 9 of 1994 would have been released on this day, but instead the magazine joins Super Power.
  • Apogee establishes the 3D Realms Entertainment division.
  • Blizzard Entertainment is renamed from Silicon & Synapse.
  • SSI sold to Mindscape
  • Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo lawsuit: Alpex sues Nintendo over patent infringements related to the NES. Nintendo loses the case. (In 1996 this ruling was reversed by an appeals court, which determined that no patents had been infringed upon.)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

    • Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Dragon Pacific Intern

Notable releases in 1994

Template:Table alignment

Release Date Title Platform Developer/Publisher Genre Template:Abbr
February 2 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 GEN Sega Template:Citation needed
March X-COM: UFO Defense DOS Mythos Games/MicroProse Template:Citation needed
March 19 Super Metroid SNES Nintendo Metroidvania Template:Citation needed
March 25 The Elder Scrolls: Arena DOS Bethesda Action RPG, Sandbox Template:Citation needed
April 2 Final Fantasy VI SNES Square Co. RPG Template:Citation needed
June 14 Donkey Kong 94 GB Nintendo Template:Citation needed
July TIE Fighter DOS LucasArts Template:Citation needed
August 2 Earthworm Jim SNES, GEN Shiny Entertainment Template:Citation needed
August 25 The King of Fighters '94 NEO SNK Template:Citation needed
August 27 EarthBound SNES Nintendo RPG Template:Citation needed
September Master of Magic DOS MicroProse Template:Citation needed
September 9 Mortal Kombat II SNES Sculptured Software/Acclaim Entertainment Template:Citation needed
September 22 System Shock DOS Looking Glass Studios/Origin Systems Template:Citation needed
October 10 Doom LIN Dave D. Taylor/id Software Template:Citation needed
October 10 Doom II DOS id Software Template:Citation needed
October 17 Sonic & Knuckles GEN Sega citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

October 28 Killer Instinct Arcade Rare Template:Citation needed
November 15 Warcraft: Orcs & Humans DOS Blizzard Entertainment Template:Citation needed
November 15 NFL '95 GEN, GG Double Diamond Software (GEN)
Blue Sky Software (GG)		 Sports (football) Template:Citation needed
November 21 Donkey Kong Country SNES Rare/Nintendo Template:Citation needed
November 23 King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride DOS Sierra On-Line Template:Citation needed
December The Need for Speed 3DO Electronic Arts Racing <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
December Magic Carpet DOS, PS1, SAT Bullfrog Productions Action Template:Citation needed
December Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger DOS Origin Space combat simulator <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
December 9 Tekken Arcade Namco Fighting Template:Citation needed
December 10 Wario's Woods NES Nintendo Template:Citation needed
December 16 King's Field PS1 FromSoftware Action RPG Template:Citation needed
December 17 Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium GEN Sega Template:Citation needed
December 21 Marathon MAC Bungie FPS Template:Citation needed
December 27 Heretic DOS, MAC Raven Software/id Software Template:Citation needed

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Template:History of video games

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